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| Date: | Sunday 31 May 1942 |
| Time: | 04:05 |
| Type: | Handley Page Hampden Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 14 OTU RAF |
| Registration: | P5321 |
| MSN: | GL-P3 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near March, Cambridgeshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Cottesmore |
Takeoff at 23:06 hrs for participation in the first 1000 bomber raid with target Köln, Germany.
Upon return, the aircraft was wrecked in a mid-air collision.
In a report written by Sqn Ldr Falconer after the incident he described what happened. He stated that he emerged from a rain cloud. He suddenly saw another aircraft displaying its navigation lights but it was too late to avoid.
Crew:-
Pilot : Pilot Officer Donald Buchan Falconer DFC RAF 87052 (NCO:903392 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 19 November, 1940)
Observer : Warrant Officer Cecil Holmes RAF 581425 [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Pilot Officer John Henry Knowling RAFVR 122586 (NCO:909148 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 23 June, 1942) [Killed]
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Pilot Officer Harvey Strong Little RAFVR 117861 (NCO:1052098 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 21 April, 1942) [Killed]
Pilot Officer Knowling is buried in Bury, Huntingdonshire, and was the eldest son of John Henry May Knowlong, a councillor in Brighton on the south coast of England. John is commemorated on his father’s grave in the city’s Woodvale cemetery.
This information together with an appropriate photograph is being sent to Imperial War Museum’s War Memorial Register and in time this entry will be updated with an appropriate link.
Sources:
Bomber Command Losses 1942
CWGC
http://www.aircrewremembered.com/AlliedLossesIncidents/?q=P5321
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Jan-2018 21:52 | Red Dragon | Added |
| 20-Feb-2018 17:13 | Nepa | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Destination airport, Narrative, ] |
| 21-Apr-2020 16:05 | TigerTimon | Updated [Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 21-May-2024 11:42 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 22-Feb-2025 20:21 | Richard | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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